5 Common Moving Mistakes to Avoid

Human beings are a pretty mistake-prone and forgetful lot. But don’t lose sleep over it–it comes with the territory. In fact, you should be thankful you don’t remember everything because it helps to lessen the cognitive load that would otherwise lead to serious confusion. Unfortunately, you are not likely to share that sentiment once you end up losing precious time and money, courtesy of forgetting to complete an important task prior to your move. Relocating from your present home to a new residence is one of life’s more stressful events simply because it involves so many moving parts and requires meticulous planning. Staying on top of things is important for a successful move.

Here are the 5 most common mistakes that people make when moving and how to avoid them:

Forget to create a checklist

Time management is key to a successful house move. With no clear idea what to do, you are very likely to overlook or completely forget some crucial move-related tasks. The worst-case scenario goes something like this: you live in Louisiana and have contacted a moving company in Louisiana. The company arrives on schedule only to find you are not ready to move out. You then end up paying a surcharge for wasted time and must reschedule your move thus wasting more time. Creating a checklist helps you to organize your time properly because by having moving timelines that have to be completed within set timeframes.

Forget to pack a survival kit

Many movers are guilty of failing to pack a survival kit consisting of essentials they will need once they arrive at their new home before they can access their belongings again. Failure to pack a survival kit can really make life difficult for you over the next few days before your belongings get delivered to your new home. Remember to pack an essential box that contains extra clothes, prescription medication, kitchen utensils, toiletries, a flashlight, hand tools, important documentation and other must-have items.

Fail to double-check your inventory

Taking stock of your belongings is incredibly important. One of the most common mistakes that happen when moving involves unpacking your stuff at your new home only to discover that some important items were left behind several hundred miles away. Although it’s impractical to check whether every single item that you own has been boxed or loaded, you can label your boxes and create an inventory list prior to the move. You can then double-check whether every box has been loaded before signing off the inventory sheet on delivery day.

Forget about your non-movables

Most Louisiana moving companies refuse to be liable for theft or damage of expensive items including jewelry, fancy cameras, important documents, coin collectors and so on. You should therefore make prior arrangements to pack your valuable belongings and transport them yourself. Read your moving contract carefully to check what the moving company can and cannot move.

Forget to redirect your mail

With so much else to do, it’s very easy to forget more mundane things like changing your home address when moving, only to later wonder why your mailbox is empty two weeks after arrival. It’s recommended that you change your home address and schedule transfer of service accounts for electricity, water and cable at least two weeks before moving. You can arrange with a neighbor to keep forwarding your mail to your new location until the new address change takes effect.

If you are moving around the Greater New Orleans or Northshore area, Atmosphere Movers would love to be a part of your move! Call us at 866-766-8363 to get a FREE quote!